Windowed coin package



United States Patent Inventor George L. Dorsett l305 W. 35th St., Pine Bluff, Arkansas 71601 I Appl. No 798,288

Filed Feb. ll, 1969 Patented Oct. 13, 1970 WlNDOWl-ID COIN PACKAGE 3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 20610.82, 229/ 87.2

Int. Cl 865d 85/00 Field ofSearch 229/872;

206/46(M0ney). .83. .84. .82. .8

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 949,987 2/l9l0 Meyers 229/872 3,282,494 11/1966 Tarn 229/872 3,347,450 l0/l967 Godwin 229/873 Pri/muy Examiner- William T. Dixson. Jr. AIl0rney-Ralph R. Pittman ABSTRACT: A paper coin wrapper with crimpable ends has interposed therebetween window means visibly exposing a relatively small portion of the edge of each of the contained coins.

Patented Get. 13, 1970 INVENTOR- Gnqe L- DorseH- BY I wmoowso cons" PACKAGE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a windowed coin package construction such that a small portion of the circumferential edge surface of each contained coin is made available for visual inspection, the respective end portions -of the containing wrapper being crimpable, in accordance with common practice.

Transparent coin wrappers of numerous constructions have heretofore been available for packaging coins, but have never been generally accepted in commerce, one reason being the fact that the transparent material required a heat sealing operation to effectively close the ends of the package and another important reason being the much greater difficulty of releasing the coins from the package as compared to that of a paper wrapper, which is quickly and easily opened by striking the package against any solid edge.

The opaque paper coin wrapper is now the most acceptable article for use by those having coins to package, such as vending machine operators, churches, banks and dealers in coins for collectors. The desirability of the paper wrapper resides in its low cost, its crimpability which enables quick and effective end closing over the contained coins, and its ease of opening;

its, undesirability is its opaqueness. The contents of a paperwrappedcoin package can be determined only by removing the contents for visual inspection. Because of this condition,

numerous spurious articles appear in wrapped coin packages, such as metal washers and disks, the only item needed for this sort of fraud being something of the same shape as the coins of the stack with which it is to be associated.

An object of the invention is the provision of a windowed coin wrapper construction such that a small portion of the edge surface of each contained coin is exposed to view, the exposure being only sufficient to enable visual detection of the presence in the stack of a material unlike that of the contained coins, while retaining the advantageous end closures, which may readily be formed by crimping unwindowed end portions over the stack ends, in accordance with common practice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is an isometric view of a windowed package;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the blank assembly;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the flat-folded assembled wrapper; FIG. 4 is an isometric view of a modified windowed package;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the modified blank assembly; and FIG. 6 is a plan view of the fiat-folded modified blank assembly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring first to FIG. 2, the numeral 10 indicates generally the blank assembly from which the container shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 is fonned. The blank includes a body portion 12 for confining the contained coins in a cylindrical stack, and a pair of integral crimpable end portions I3 for folding over the ends of a coin stack to thereby effect crimped end closures. The margins of the body portion 12 are recessed, as indicated at 18, and a window of transparent flexible material is secured by the adhesive 15 along one of the body portion margins and over one of the recesses 18, and similarly secured along the opposing margin when the container is assembled by folding the blank along the fold lines 16.

Because of its relatively small arcuate width, the window mechanically serves more to join the margins of the blank to form a tube than to contribute wall strength to the container, and for this reason the composition of the window material is not a critical matter, such materials as cellophane, vinyl or polyethylene plastics being satisfactory. The adhesive must be compatible with the plastic selected; if cellulose acetate is used, commonly used envelope-window adhesive is suitable.

The assembled container is shown in FIG. 3, being flatfolded, for convenience in'shipping and storing, and with the edges of the crimpable end portions 13 adjoining one another along the cut line 19, in position for crimping along the crimp lines 17.

The filled coin package. shown in FIG'v I, shows the body portion 12 extending around and confining the stack of coins 21, which are arranged in face to face contact with the circumferential edge surfaces aligned to constitute a cylindrical coin stack. The package is closed at its ends by the crimped end portions 20, resulting from the crimping of the portions 13 of the blank. Considerations of strength, stability, ease of opening by fracturing the wrapper, and cost of production all dictate that the window have a transverse or circumferential width of the smallest possible dimension compatible with the need for visually detecting spurious material in the coin stack, and a length of arc not exceeding 11 percent of the circumference of the contained coins is a preferred construction. In general, the tearing strength of the plastic window portion of the wall 'will exceed that of the paper wall, and thus provides a convenient hinge about which the paper wall, after fracturing, may be swung to facilitate opening of the coin package.

A modified view-restricted coin package is shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. The numeral II indicates the blank assembly, and includes the coin confining body portion 22, the integral crimpable end portions 23. The limited-width window in this embodiment is a circular perforation 24. In order to expose a small portion of each coin to be wrapped, it is desirable to utilize a plurality of perforations, spaced to avoid excessive weakening of the wall of the wrapper. A narrow longitudinal marginal portion along one of the margins 27 is coated with an adhesive 26 for joining the longitudinal margins 27 when the blank is folded along the score lines 16, yielding the flat-folded container shown in FIG. 6. The container containing a stack of coins 29 is shown in FIG. 4, the crimpable unperforated end portions 23 having been crimped along the crimp lines 25 to produce the end closure 28.

As shown in FIG. 5, there are two longitudinally separated lines of mutually transversely and longitudinally spaced perforations 24 extending in oblique rectilinear paths separated by a distance equal to one-half of the length of the coin-edge contacting or coin encompassing area. When the container is filled with coins, the perforations will assume a continuous spiral path around the container, as shown in FIG. 4. The construction here described is important, for the reason that it permits the removal of sufficient wall material to make visible an edge portion of each coin without so weakening the coin containing strength of the wall as to render the package impractical for commercial use.

I claim:

I. In a coin package comprising an elongated tubular container having a wall of opaque crimpable material confining a plurality of coins disposed in face to face abutment with their respective circumferential edge surfaces aligned to form a cylindrical body and having end portions of the tubular container crimped over the respective ends of the cylindrical body, a window disposed in said wall intermediate the crimped end portions, the opening of said window extending circumferentially alonga portion of the circumferential edge surface of each of said plurality of abutting coins, said window comprising a rectangular sheet of noncrimpable transparent material adhesively joining the longitudinal marginal edges of said wall and having a width not exceeding l 1 percent of the circumference of each contained coin.

2. A perforated opaque sheet wrapper containing a cylindrically shaped stack of coins, characterized by a series of uniformly spaced perforations disposed along a spiral path extending more than one full turn around the stack, the longitudinal spacing between a first full turn originating at one end of the stack and any additional extension thereof being not less than one-half of the length of the stack, the circumferential width of each perforation not exceeding 1 1 percent of the circumference of the cylindrical stack, and the portion of the wrapper extending between each pair of adjacent perforations overlying no coins the edge surface of which is not viewable through one or the other of said adjacent perforations.

less than one-half of the thickness of one of the contained coins and the maximum width of each perforation aperture not exceeding l 1 percent of the circumference ot'the cylindrical stack said separated rows of perforations being disposed to cooperate with one another to yield a single spiral path of more than one convolution when said wrapper is curved around said stack as the wrapper is applied thereto. 

